Hair depilating device and method for improved depilating coverage

Abstract

A hand-held, motorized depilating device, introducing a novel mechanical design to provide improved depilating coverage and hair plucking efficiency, without requiring the user to pass the device over the same given skin, area numerous times. The hair-plucking assembly is rotatable about a shaft and includes at least two disc assemblies, each comprising a pair of complimentary discs, mounted on a hub, and having radially extending arms which terminate in a flattened peripheral portion, which when pressed against a corresponding portion forms a trap for the hair. At least one of the radially extending arms is bent so that the associated hair trap lies in a different predetermined plane than the other hair-traps associated with that disc assembly. This staggered arrangement results in improved depilating coverage. In another embodiment, the hub's edge has formed thereon a pinch plate, disposed in between the complementary discs, thereby doubling the number of hair-traps, and greatly increasing depilating efficiency.

I claim:  
     
       1. A motor-powered depilating device comprising: 
       a hair-plucking assembly, coupled to motor means, and being exposed through an opening in a manually-held housing, said hair-plucking assembly being rotatable about an axis or rotation and including a plurality of disc assemblies, each disc assembly comprising:  
       a pair of complementary discs, each of said discs having at least two radial arms extending outwardly, each one of said complementary discs being mounted, respectively, on each of two axial faces of a hub having a predetermined thickness, said hub having at least two shoulders, each shoulder engaging one of said radial arms so as to impart rotational motion to said pair of discs upon rotation of said hub about the axis of rotation,  
       said hub further including engagement means, for engaging at least one adjoining hub such that rotational motion of one hub imparts rotational motion to said adjoining hub,  
       each of said radial arms terminating in a flattened peripheral portion which, when pressed against a corresponding portion of a complementary disc in a pivoting motion about an edge of said hub, forms a trap for the hair, each trap lying in a predetermined one of a plurality of virtual planes, said virtual planes comprising three substantially parallel planes orthogonal to the axis of rotation, including:  
       a centerplane bisecting said hub thickness,  
       a first offset plane, offset from said centerplane by a first offset dimension, and  
       a second offset plane, offset from said centerplane by a second dimension,  
       said three virtual planes defining a plurality of contiguous depilating coverage zones on the skin surface within said offset dimensions,  
       said at least two shoulders of said hub each having a pair of protrusions which extend axially from each of said shoulders towards adjoining disc assemblies, one on either side thereof,  
       such that, at intervals, during the rotation of said plurality of said disc assemblies, said axial protrusions extend through open spaces between adjacent radial arms of said discs to press a radial arm of an adjoining disc assembly,  
       so as to alternately close and open said hair-traps in said plurality of disc assemblies,  
       wherein at least one of said radially extending arms and its opposing complementary disc radial arm are bent, so that the hair-trap formed thereby lies in a different one of said predetermined virtual planes offset from another hair-trap associated with said disc assembly, thus forming a staggered arrangement of hair-traps,  
       said staggered arrangement of hair-traps thereby plucking skin hair with improved coverage within said depilating coverage zones, and releasing said plucked skin hair.  
     
     
       2. The device of  claim 1 , wherein said staggered arrangement of hair-traps is provided by three radial arms extending outwardly, forming three hair-traps per disc assembly, in which each hair-trap lies in a different predetermined virtual plane than each of the other two hair-traps. 
     
     
       3. The device of  claim 1 , wherein said staggered arrangement of hair-traps is provided by three radial arms extending outwardly, forming three traps per disc assembly, and wherein at least one of said hair-traps, associated with each disc assembly, lies in a different predetermined virtual plane than the other hair-traps associated with said disc assembly. 
     
     
       4. The device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one pair of said axial protrusions, associated with each disc assembly, is offset from the other pairs of said axial protrusions, thus enabling closing and opening of said staggered arrangement of hair-traps offset from one another on said adjoining disc assembly, and thereby improving the depilating coverage afforded by said plurality of disc assemblies. 
     
     
       5. The device of  claim 1 , wherein said hub further comprises pinch plates extending radially outwardly therefrom, at least one of said pinch plates being disposed in between and equidistant from said bent arms of said complementary discs, so as to be substantially flush with said flattened peripheral portions of said bent arms, thereby doubling the number of hair-traps, and greatly increasing depilating efficiency. 
     
     
       6. The device of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one hub is rotatably mounted on a fixed arcuate shaft, said arcuate shaft having a convex portion and a concave portion. 
     
     
       7. The device of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one hub is rotatably mounted on a rotatable substantially straight shaft. 
     
     
       8. The device of  claim 1 , wherein full depilating coverage is achieved by utilizing nine disc assemblies. 
     
     
       9. The device of  claim 5 , wherein, due to the addition of said pinch plates, depilating coverage is greatly improved, thus enabling full depilating coverage to be achieved by utilizing less than nine disc assemblies. 
     
     
       10. A method of hair depilation comprising: 
       providing a hair depilating device, having a hair plucking assembly, coupled to motor means, and being exposed through an opening in a manually-held housing said hair-plucking assembly being rotatable about an axis of rotation and including a plurality of disc assemblies, each disc assembly comprising:  
       a pair of complementary discs, each of said disc having at least two radial arms extending outwardly, each one of said complementary discs being mounted, respectively, on each of two axial faces of a hub having a predetermined thickness, said hub having at least two shoulders, each shoulder engaging one of said radial arms so as to impart rotational motion to said pair of discs upon rotation of said hub about the axis of rotation,  
       said hub further including engagement means, for engaging at least one adjoining hub such that rotational motion of one hub imparts rotational motion to said adjoining hub,  
       each of said radial arms terminating in a flattened peripheral portion which, when pressed against a corresponding portion of a complementary disc in a pivoting motion about an edge of said hub, forms a trap for the hair, each trap lying in a predetermined one of a plurality of virtual planes, said virtual planes comprising three substantially parallel planes orthogonal to the axis of rotation, including:  
       a centerplane bisecting said hub thickness,  
       a first offset plane, offset from said centerplane by a first dimension, and  
       a second offset plane, offset from said centerplane by a second dimension,  
       said three virtual planes defining a plurality of contiguous depilating coverage zones on the skin surface within said offset dimensions,  
       said at least two shoulders of said hub each having a pair of protrusions which extend axially from each of said shoulders towards adjoining disc assemblies, one on either side thereof,  
       and rotating said plurality of disc assemblies such that, at intervals, during said rotation, said axial protrusions extend through open spaces between adjacent radial arms of said disco to press a radial arm of an adjoining disc assembly,  
       so as to alternately close and open said hair-traps in said plurality of disc assemblies,  
       wherein at least one of said radially extending arms and its opposing complementary disc radial arm are bent, so that the hair-trap formed thereby lies in a different one of said predetermined virtual planes offset from another hair-trap associated with said disc assembly, thus forming a staggered arrangement of hair-traps,  
       said staggered arrangement of hair-traps thereby plucking skin hair with improved coverage within said depilating coverage zones, and releasing said plucked skin hair.  
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  wherein during said rotation, said hair depilating device is passed over the skin from which hair is to depilated, with improved depilating coverage, without requiring said device to pass over the same skin area numerous times. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10  wherein said staggered arrangement of hair-traps greatly increases the depilating coverage. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 10  wherein during said rotation, said hair depilating device is passed over the skin from which hair is to depilated, with maximum depilating coverage in a single pass of the device. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10  wherein said depilation is performed in a plurality of contiguous depilating coverage zones. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 10 , wherein said hub further comprises pinch plates extending radially outwardly therefrom, at least one of said pinch plates being disposed in between and equidistant from said bent arms of said complementary discs, so as to be substantially flush with said flattened peripheral portions of said bent arms, thereby doubling the number of hair-traps, and greatly increasing depilating efficiency when said device is passed over the skin surface. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 10  wherein hair depilation is performed by nine disc assemblies. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 15  wherein hair depilation is performed by less than nine disc assemblies.